I just saw something amazing on TV here in Tokyo. Ito-Yokado, the Walmart of Japan, is now selling slightly damaged produce at steep discounts in all of their stores.
The reporter bit into a slightly dinged apple and declared that it actually tasted good. Her co-host was in shocked amazement.
In thirty years of coming here, I've never seen anything but perfect fruit for sale -- each neatly packaged one-by-one. And when you buy the packaged fruit, they stick it in another package, and that goes in yet another bag. The Japanese are insane over perfection.
So what happens to the produce that is misshapen or slightly bruised or marred by rubbing against the stem? Some of it goes into processed foods and juice. The rest is dumped -- and dumped all along the delivery chain. The farmer, the coop, the distributor, the wholesaler and the retailer all take turns dumping damaged goods. It's a wonder that anything gets to market except for the fact that they use elaborate crating techniques to protect their precious cargo.
The same is true in the building industry. Clients will drive contractors nuts over minor flaws. If the natural pattern in a stone tile is displeasing, they'll ask to have it replaced. Wood paneling must match perfectly to the others. Tatami mats, which can last ten years, are frequently tossed after a year or two when sunlight fades the natural fibers. All of this adds up to tons of waste -- the kind of waste that cannot be easily recycled and instead gets incinerated.
Another phenomenon that defies the imagination is the growing use of spray deodorizers, like Febreze. Kids are buying clothes at Uniqlo and spraying them with deodorizers between wearings -- instead of washing them, which would make them look less new. After two or three rounds of this, the garment, which is dirt cheap, is simply tossed out. It's the one-use, disposable chopstick phenomenon applied to everything -- even cars!
Until this latest recession, there was essentially no used car market in Japan. Used cars simply fell below their ideals of perfection, so they were shipped overseas. Most used domestic Japanese cars were shipped to China, or Africa or Indonesia after a couple years.
Well, recessions have a way of making environmentalists out of any consumer, even a fastidious Japanese consumer. Today, there are used car, used appliance and used clothing shops popping up all over Japan. And if you are Japanese and into vintage classic cars, there are armies of mechanics that will keep it in factory-spec condition. And forget about dirty cars. I've never seen one in all these years.
How about BYOB, bring your own bag? It's almost unheard of here except at a few enlightened organic groceries. The reality is that most food is bought at convenience stores where it's the packaging you're paying for, not what's inside. The stuff inside is a commodity. It's the package that's valuable -- until it's tossed, which is almost instantly.
Japan is making great strides in sustainability with their electric cars, their advanced energy schemes and their embrace of Kyoto Protocol goals, but their obsession with perfection is thwarting progress on the most fundamental understanding -- the idea that perfection is ultimately unsustainable.
Richard Seireeni is president of The Brand Architect Group, Los Angeles, a strategic brand consultancy with affiliated offices in Tokyo and Shanghai. Richard Seireeni is the author of a new book on the marketing experiences of over two dozen U.S. green companies published by Chelsea Green Publishing. The book is titled The Gort Cloud and describes the invisible network that is powering today's most successful green brands.
Ditto -- article is mostly wrong, wrong, and wrong
I'm not sure where the author got his facts, but from where I'm sitting in Fukuyama, a small city in western Japan, he's got it all wrong. I've been here for ten years, and his Japan certainly doesn't sound like mine.
If was a rude gaijin, I might call Rick-san, "BAKA!"
>>In thirty years of coming here, I've never seen anything but perfect fruit for sale...The Japanese are insane over perfection...<<
I just choked a discounted, over-ripe fig reading this malarkey.
Damaged and a bit too ripe fruit are ALWAYS available discounted in markets especially smaller mom-n-pop green grocers. Once neighborhood shopkeepers learn my preferences in the course of neighborly banter, they will remember to offer me special deals on less-than-perfect food items.
>>used cars<<
Yes, used cars are deeply discounted compared to the US, but used car lots count for 30+% sales in Japan. Almost EVERY Japanese neighborhood has used car dealers.
Japanese have a residual dislike of all used items (in Shintoism objects gain the spirit of their owners, often the negative spirit), However, there are plenty of "Recycle Stores" including the ubiquitous chain of "Book Off" "Hardware Off" which is like the McDonalds of recycling stores--something that eco-primitive North America doesn't have yet.
>>...The same is true in the building industry. Clients will drive contractors nuts over minor flaws. If the natural pattern in a stone tile is displeasing, they'll ask to have it replaced. Wood paneling must match perfectly to the others.<<
Yes, Japanese clients will drive contractors nuts over minor flaws. However, contractors will drive clients nuts over the WORST-quality-in-the-world linoleum, wood flooring, wall coverings, trim, painting, zero insulation, single pane windows, etc. Japan's construction industry is just shameful outlier to all rationality and cause a great suffering of the Japanese people. (It's the cultural Achilles Heel of Japan, like firearm deaths in the US.)
>>Tatami mats, which can last ten years, are frequently tossed after a year or two when sunlight fades the natural fibers. All of this adds up to tons of waste -- the kind of waste that cannot be easily recycled and instead gets incinerated.<<
Yes, tatami mats are a poor flooring choice in terms of longevity, but after after a year or two the tatami is flipped over NOT thrown out.
>>How about BYOB, bring your own bag? It's almost unheard of here except at a few enlightened organic groceries...<<
EVERY Japanese supermarket chain and most convenience stores offer some kind of eco-bag or plastic bag recycling---Just the read Japanese signage at the checkout lane (unless you are a Japanese-illiterate tourist).
Bottom line: Your armchair anthropology (seemingly from a Japanese-illiterate viewpoint) is just plain wrong.
Taro-- "visiting" Tokyo since 1964
This article presents a very
This article presents a very slanted view of Japan and is the reason so many stereotypes about foreign cultures continue to be spread throughout western media.
When I was living in Japan the supermarkets I frequented promoted reusable bags, several of them even charging customers for plastic bags as a means of discouraging their use (something unheard of in Australia where I'm from). Many discount supermarkets also primarily sell fruits and vegetables that weren't deemed good enough for the more elite chains at far cheaper prices.
Well, I was going to comment,
Well, I was going to comment, but everything I wanted to say about this sad excuse for an article has already been said. I have lived in Tokyo for over 10 years, working with young adults, and have NEVER seen anyone just Febreezing their clothes instead of washing. Buying something from Uniqlo, wearing it a few times and then throwing it away is something that even I am guilty of. But not in place of hygiene.
Seiyu is the Walmart of Japan, in fact owned by Walmart, and you can find normal fruit for a somewhat low price. In the US, fruit is commonly discarded on the production line if they don't fit a certain look.
Also, all my local stores PAY me (1 or 2 yen) to bring my own bag. Where does this author shop? Was his last visit to Ginza tourist traps in the late 80s?
WTF?
1. Used cars.
- I walked past 3 or 4 used car dealers on the way to work this morning. Try kananadori, or megurodori -> major roads. Or look up Guliver's used car chain. All have been around for a while.
2. How about BYOB, bring your own bag?
- Are you kidding? It's called "My Bag" they are everywhere, you cant escape them.
2.a. The reality is that most food is bought at convenience stores?
- Then why do I have to wait so long at the checkout at Seiyu supermarket?
3. One-wear clothes is a global thing.
4. Building industry?
- I've seen some pretty shoddy construction. Have a look at the paving, or the corners of the walls.
5. Seiyu is the Walmart of Japan, after all, they are owned by Walmart :-)
6. The whole point of the article.
- My local Tokyu (mid-high end supermarket) has a old produce section, doesn't look very appealing, but it's been there for as long as I've been shopping there.
Inaccurate article
This article gives an inaccurate portrayal of Japan. The author says he has "been coming to japan for 30 years". So what? "Coming to Japan" hardly gives you the basis to make such sweeping pronouncements. I have been living in Japan for 15 years and I call bulls**t on this article. That whole "buy a shirt, spray with febreeze and throw it out" may happen with a couple kids, but is not the normal way of doing things. I teach high school and university classes and none of my students have heard of such a thing let alone done it. Also, not all fruit is perfect and sold individually wrapped. You can buy a bag of apples instead of an individual one. There are fruit markets. A lot of supermarkets now have the name of the (local) farmer who grew the produce so people know who's food they are buying. Also, there IS a market for used cars. My wife has a company buying and selling used cars. We bought a used cars, many people we know bought a used cars. Basically this whole article is taking a slice of some foreigner's impression of Japan and stating it as fact for 120 million people throughout the country. It is inaccurate and shoddy reporting.